Close Encounters of the Foreign Kind
by xMeme
Summary: There are five reasons why Ryoma doesn't get along well with foreigners. -Ryoma/Sakuno-
1. Hero Complexes

**Tennis no Oujisama **© Konomi Takeshi JUMP Shueisha / **Axis Powers Hetalia** © Himaruya Hidekaz

Okay, so I'm back with a new fic. It's been a long time since I wrote an actual RyoSaku and I kinda missed it. :D This one is a sort-of sequel to _Five Times Ryoma Called Sakuno Dense_ but you really don't need to read that fic to get this one.

Aside from being a RyoSaku fic, this is also a TeniPuri crossover with Hetalia, which is my latest obsession. This fic was mostly inspired from the fandom meme that was on darkwings09's Livejournal.

Dedicated to darkwings09, fellow Ryosaku-shipper, Arthur lover, and overall Hetalia-tard. Let's keep on seizing vital regions. XD

* * *

**Close Encounters of the Foreign Kind **(a.k.a. Five Reasons Why Ryoma Doesn't Get Along Well With Foreigners)

**ONE (wherein Ryoma encounters England and America)**

Echizen Ryoma tapped his foot impatiently on the ground as he checked his watch for the third time. The LCD read 7:00. Normally, Ryoma would still be off to dreamland at this hour. That's how he loved spending his free days: sleeping. Unless he was forced awake by either his mom or the other people inside their household, Echizen Ryoma was rarely seen up before ten o'clock.

Ryoma was not a morning person. He was never that interested about seeing the break of dawn firsthand or that enthusiastic about feeling the fresh early morning breeze against his skin. He'd rather feel his pillows and his bed. Ryuuzaki Sakuno, however, loved mornings. She liked waking up while the world was still dark; liked savoring the cool and crisp morning air; liked watching the sky break into a myriad of colors as the sun slowly appeared from the horizon.

And it occurred to him that she also liked to make him suffer, taking into account how she went on and made him break his regular morning routine simply by asking him (in the nicest and sweetest way that's very characteristic of her) if they could continue to have their tennis tutorials in the mornings, specifically during the hours he would have preferred that he'd spent sleeping.

Of course, he could always say no if he wanted to. He was the teacher, after all. He had the power and the authority to set the schedules depending on what's convenient for him. And if she couldn't make it on the times he had set, then that's her problem. She was the one who needed his help; naturally, she was the one who needed to adjust to his rules, to his preferences. It's not as if he was getting paid to teach her tennis in the first place!

But he never said no. He didn't even attempt to. Ryuuzaki-sensei would have his head if he made her precious granddaughter go through hell like that. And it's not just Ryuuzaki-sensei whom he was worried about.

For one, there's his mother who was very sweet most of the time, but could be quite scary if she wanted to. His old man could attest to that.

("Don't make her angry, Ryoma. You don't like her when she's angry.")

Then there's his sleazy father, who never failed to annoy him with questions about 'bases'. Did you get to first base? Did you get to second base? Was it a homerun? Ryoma thought his father was weird. He was a tennis player. Why was he asking him about baseball?

("Cute, Chibisuke. Your naivety is very cute."

"Ah, stop teasing your brother, Ryoga. He's young and inexperienced, you know."

"Ch' You two are annoying.")

Of course, how he could forget Ryoga, who frequently joked about how he would take Sakuno away if he ever made her upset? Ryoma didn't find any humor in it at all.

("Can you enlighten me as to which part is the punchline?")

Then, he had his aunts who were already planning his wedding. _His wedding!_ And it all began when they asked him if he was seeing Ryuuzaki on a regular basis.

("Yes, I'm dating her.")

He thought he was only answering a question but for some reason, they took it as if he were announcing his engagement. Damn, his head hurt a lot just by thinking about how his aunts would pester him about the wedding details. Like his Aunt Mimi for instance, who recently asked him what color he wanted for the motif.

("Do you prefer blue, Ryoma-chan? Or would you like it green instead?"

"Auntie, I just turned eighteen. We should not be having this conversation."

" I think you should get Sakuno-chan's opinion as well. She's is a part of this after all."

"Hey you, don't encourage her!"

"Ah, you're right, Ryoga-chan. Do you have her number?"

"Did you hear any word I've said? Oi, nobody touch that phone!")

There were also his former teammates, specifically Momo and Kikumaru who considered securing the happiness of his love life as one of their many civic duties. Ryoma wondered why they didn't get themselves a "happy love life" first before they started meddling with his.

("Ochibi, that's not how you handle a relationship with a girl!"

"Senpai is right. You should listen to us."

"You got no room to talk, Momo-senpai. Weren't you just dumped by Tachibana's sister a week ago? "

"Why you little --?!"

"Oi,Momo,let's not be violent."

"And Kikumaru-senpai's relationship with Ooishi-senpai hasn't progressed a bit right?"

"Ochibi!")

And then there's that loud friend of hers-- Osakada who adored Ryuuzaki as much as she claimed to be his number one fan.

("I like you a lot, Ryoma-sama, I really do. But if you ever break Sakuno-chan's heart, I'm sorry but I will have to make you pay for it.")

Oh, and Karupin,too. His Karupin. He was surprised at how his cat could change his loyalties just because of one can of cat food. The little traitor.

Ryoma dubbed them the "Ryuuzaki Sakuno Support Group" and they could be a rather scary bunch. But Ryoma knew it was not just the fear of being slaughtered by them that brought him here. It was something else; something that could make him sacrifice the habits he had been doing for years just so he could see her warm, affectionate smile.

He, Echizen Ryoma, was in love with Ryuuzaki Sakuno, that's the plain and simple truth.

But he needed to just to clarify one thing: just because he was so smitten with the auburn-haired girl did _not_ automatically mean that she could get away with whatever she did. Like showng up late, for example. Ryoma refused to believe that she had that much power over him. He was Echizen Ryoma, after all. He always had top control.

Ryoma checked his watch again and sighed exasperatedly. 7:05. She was very late. Okay, that was exaggerated. She was only five minutes late. He, however, had been waiting for her for the past 25 minutes. He thought of coming to the tennis park earlier than their expected meeting time of 7:00 because he assumed she would as well. But it turned out he thought wrong. And to think he did her a favor by coming early so she didn't need to wait for him!

Wasn't she supposed to be all excited to see him? Because she was his girlfriend and that's how it's supposed to work right?

Ryoma cursed. This relationship-thing could be confusing sometimes. Somebody should write an in-depth manual about it. Like The Idiot's Guide to Better Relationships for the Romantically-challenged or How to Act Like a Boyfriend for Dummies. He surely needed it.

When the LCD on his watch displayed the time 7:10, Ryoma decided to give her a call on his mobile phone. When she didn't answer, he moved from his place and went to look for her. He didn't entertain the thought that she might be lost. True, she did have a bad sense of direction most of the time but they'd been here to this park for several times he was certain it was impossible for her to get lost. He was worried about something else.

Sakuno was a magnet for trouble. He didn't know what was it in her but trouble just kept on coming her way the same way a bee would hover over a flower. She might as well wear a shirt that said, "Hey you bullies, come and get me!"

Fortunately, he was always there in time. He would save her and she would look at him like he was Superman or something. And he liked it. Contrary to what others thought of him, he liked being a hero. He liked being _her_ hero.

But he'd rather that she kept herself _out_ of trouble.

However, for that morning, he discovered that his wish was left unheeded as he saw two men surrounding and leering down at her as if they wanted to devour her for breakfast. Ryoma gritted his teeth. He hated perverts, so early in the morning even.

Then he noticed what she was wearing and groaned. It was that tight white shirt that hugged her every curve and that short white skirt that showed off her shapely legs. After he had settled the issue with those two bastards, he swore he was going to have a long discussion with her about her attire.

That shirt and that skirt was nothing but bad news.

Ryoma's golden eyes flared with unspoken anger when one of the men dared to grab her harshly by the arm. He heard her demand for her release, followed by a whimper as the man seemed to have tightened his grip on her,

And at that moment, Ryoma really lost it. No one was allowed to hurt her. Anyone who dared would have to answer to him.

"Let her go." His voice was firm and controlled, but one could not miss the underlying fury in his every word.

The two men stared at him haughtily. They were taller and bigger than he was but Ryoma was not afraid. The look of hope and relief in Sakuno's eyes upon seeing him was more than enough to give him the confidence he needed.

"Well, well, well, look who we got here, Tooru. A pipsqueak wanting to play the knight-in-shining-armor for the damsel-in-distress."

"Get lost, punk! This is none of your business."

Ryoma seethed. "Didn't you hear what I said? I said **Let. Her. Go**."

Tooru snickered and he handed Sakuno to his companion who held the girl tightly on each arm. Smirking still, he slowly approached the feline-eyed boy, who remained unfazed. "This is a good way to exercise," he stated while cracking his knuckles.

Meanwhile, Sakuno was trying her best to escape.

"Stop squirming, girlie. It's not gong to do you any good. Why don't you just watch how Tooru destroys that meddling boy's pretty face?"

Sakuno refused to listen. She had to free herself somehow and run; run away with Ryoma. While she was delighted to see him, she was also scared of what might happen. True, Ryoma had never been beaten before; he had never ended up with stitches or glaring bruises. But there was always a first time for everything. (Tooru was larger, bulkier than Ryoma.) And she didn't want to witness that firsthand.

Silently, Sakuno prayed for a miracle.

"Prepare yourself, punk. I'm going to kick you a--!"

And a miracle came.

"Tooru!"

It took Ryoma a while to digest what had happened. One moment, Tooru was inching towards him ready to kill. Next, he saw him flying to the side, yelping in pain and in his place, a blond, bespectacled man stood. He was grinning from ear to ear.

"Don't worry, kids. Your hero has come to save the day," the stranger spoke in perfect English. Judging by his accent (or lack thereof), Ryoma deduced he was American. An American with a very powerful kick, he noticed, but with very poor observation skills. Ryoma believed he didn't look a bit like a kid anymore.

From the corner of his eyes, he spotted Tooru recovering from his blow. Despite the occasional winces, Ryoma could see that he was determined to get some payback.

"Fuck you, you stupid foreigner!"

And with that, he lunged forward, aiming to hit the American on his face. But the man deftly sidestepped and tripped him in the process. Tooru stumbled forward. And then he felt a powerful fist connect underneath his chin. And then another on his cheek.

Tooru's world immediately turned to black.

"Wonderful entrance, Alfred. The lack of modesty and refinement is so you."

Another blond man came. The guy who punched Tooru was a bit shorter than the other and had strikingly thick eyebrows. His accent gave away that he was British.

"And the jealous tone after being upstaged is so you as well, Arthur."

The man called Arthur rolled his eyes. "Please, being jealous of you is the last thing I'll ever feel." he said before turning to the guy that was still holding Sakuno captive and ordered, "Hey you, I suggest you bloody let go of the girl now you don't want to have your arse kicked like your friend over here.." He gave Tooru a gentle kick on the head.

The guy looked at him in both in fear and in confusion.

"He probably doesn't understand English. Talk to him in Japanese." Alfred suggested.

Arthur mentally groaned. Truthfully, his Japanese was rather inferior. But there's no way, no bloody way in hell that he would let Alfred have the satisfaction of knowing that. He hoped that the guy would be smart enough to understand his unspoken commands.

"Hey you…" he called for the other man's attention. He pointed finger at him, while keeping an intimidating expression. And then he brought his finger near his neck and pretended to draw an imaginary line across it: the universal symbol for the statement 'you are so dead.' Arthur was relieved that the Japanese understood and quickly he released the girl and went to pick up his fallen friend, before scurrying out of the area.

Alfred laughed even before the scared Japanese was out of earshot. "I said talk to the man in Japanese, not do the sign language."

"Lesson number one, my hamburger-brained friend. Sometimes, you don't need to recite an entire paragraph just to get your point across." Arthur replied haughtily.

"Or maybe your Japanese is bad."

"Shut up."

"Come to think of it, I've never really heard you talk in Japanese except when you wanted to ask where the toilet was. And you've always made me communicate with the people here."

"No, I don't. You do that by yourself because you like hogging the attention."

"Admit it, it you can't speak Japanese well, can you?"

"Well, you have a funny way of speaking it!"

Ignoring the conversation happening between the two men, Ryoma took this chance to run to Sakuno's side.

"Ryoma-kun…"

"Did that bastard hurt you badly?"

"I'm fine," Sakuno replied meekly. "I'm sorry I got in trouble again. I don't know why these things always happen to me. I must be cursed with bad luck, and you always get dragged into it."

"Never mind that."

"But…"

"Do you hear me complaining?"

She shook her head.

"Did you ever hear me complain?"

She shook her head again.

"Good. That ends the discussion."

Sakuno gave him a small warm smile, one that made his every effort to save her all worth it. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For always saving me."

He smirked at her as if telling her that it was expected of him. Then he glanced at the two blonds still bickering stupidly over each other's Japanese fluency. His smirk faded. "Not today, though," he said a bit bitterly.

Sakuno followed his line vision. "I guess we should go and ahead thank them now."

"Yeah, I suppose."

"But my English is terrible…"

"Don't worry. I'll do it." Ryoma sighed. Though he was grateful that they helped saving Sakuno, he didn't really like how they stole the moment from him. "Hey, misters!" he yelled in English, catching both of their attentions. "Excuse me for interrupting your conversation but thanks for saving my friend. I really appreciate it," he said in a perfectly monotonous tone. He wanted to be sincere, really. But it's hard when he's slightly upset.

The guy with the glasses waved his hand dismissively. "Oh don't mention it. It's all in a day's work for a hero like me and---"

"Quit it with the hero complex. It's bloody annoying," the Englishman cut in. Ryoma silently seconded.

Alfred completely ignored this. "As I was saying, it's just normal for me to save people who needed to be saved, especially kids."

Ryoma raised a brow at this. "Let me just clarify some things. One, I'm not a kid; I don't like being called one. Two, I did not need saving. I could handle those two guys by myself."

He heard the man named Arthur snicker. "Surely..."

Ryoma gave him a sharp glare. He was beginning to really dislike these guys. "Yes, surely. But thanks for the help even if it was _not_ really necessary. Let's go, Ryuuzaki."

And with that he pulled a confused Sakuno away from the two foreigners. But as she was being led away, she didn't forget to give them a grateful smile and a few English phrases she had learned. "uh… thank you. Nice punch!"

Ryoma looked back at her with a furrowed brow. "Nice punch?" That was random.

Sakuno only shrugged and smiled sheepishly.

* * *

"Some of these Japanese kids are really rude."

"Give the boy some slack. You can't really blame him for wanting to be the hero in the eyes of his pretty, little girlfriend."

"Geez..if you knew that then why did you have to steal his thunder?"

"Because if I didn't, then _I_ wouldn't be the hero."

"Your way of thinking will forever boggle me."

**End One. **

* * *

Thank you for reading.


	2. Everybody Loves Austria

**Tennis no Oujisama** © Konomi Takeshi JUMP Shueisha / **Axis Powers Hetalia** © Himaruya Hidekaz

First of all, thank you to all who reviewed the previous chapter. I really appreciate it. So now, I bring you part II—or II.a, to be specific since this particular episode is broken into several parts.

* * *

**Close Encounters of the Foreign Kind** (a.k.a. Five Reasons Why Ryoma Doesn't Get Along Well With Foreigners)

**Two A** (Everybody loves Austria…Well, Everybody Except Ryoma and Prussia)

At lunch time, the usually crowded hallway of the Seishun Gakuen Highschool Department was buzzing.

"Roderich-san is so cool."

"He is, isn't he? And the way he plays the piano…" Sigh.

"And he's so handsome, too."

"And such a gentleman."

"And so elegant."

Personally, Echizen Ryoma thought "buzzing" was putting it lightly. The hall was a certified jungle, a jungle which was mostly inhabited by a large group of high-pitched, squealing, teenaged girls who seemed to have found themselves a new object of their overwhelming devotion. Surprisingly, the name he heard was quite unfamiliar. He found it strange that it wasn't either one of the Johnny's Entertainment boys, one of the D-boys or one of the other popular local idols. After all, they were the usual targets of this passionate but sometimes bordering-on-creepy devotion.

Now contrary to popular belief, Ryoma was not as clueless about the entertainment industry as most people would assume. (Everyone thought he only had tennis on his mind.) But he had to point out that if it weren't Sakuno, he would have zero knowledge about showbusiness. Like most highschool girls her age, Sakuno followed the Japanese idol scene fervently, and what kind of a boyfriend was he if he didn't know a thing about his girlfriend's other interests? He's even quite supportive of it, despite the fact that he knew she had a crush on some of these idols.

Like that Nemo guy who starred in a Hollywood movie.

("It's Nino,Ryoma-kun, Nino, not Nemo. Nemo was the fish."

"I don't see any difference."

"Mou…")

Or that boyband—what was its name again? PUTTUN? (1)

("Ryoma-kun, I really appreciate that you bought their CD for me, but it's KAT-TUN. It's an acronym derived from the first letter of each of the group members' last name."

"Really? I see…So, what do you like about PUTTUN anyway?"

"Mou, Ryoma-kun…)

Or that guy whom they had recently seen on a billboard.

("Wow, Ikuta-san looks so much better with his new haircut."

"Which one is he?"

"There! The best-looking guy in the picture."

"I don't see any.")

Ryoma didn't really mind these crushes for they were just that—petty crushes. They didn't mean anything. Sakuno crushing on any of these idols was like him admiring the Williams sisters for their tennis skills. It was simply not reason for him to get worried. Oh, and definitely not a reason for him to be jealous about.

("Is he really that great?"

"Who?"

"That guy who's currently on TV."

"You mean Oguri Shun?"

"Ryuuzaki has been talking about him lately; said he's a good actor and all that."

"Well, that's true. I've seen his latest movie. Wicked stuff."

"I see." Pause. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

" Shoot."

"Whose eyes are prettier: his or mine?"

"What the hell–?! Who are you and what have you done with Chibisuke?"

"Very funny. Just answer the damn question, will you?!"

"Did you even hear yourself, Chibisuke? You were asking me who between you and Oguri Shun had prettier eyes. Do you have any idea how _awkward_ and how _wrong_ it sounded, coming from _you_?"

"What's the big deal? It's just a question." Irritated sigh. "I just wanted to know what you think. Ryuuzaki said that Oguri person has very pretty eyes so…"

"Wait…are you jealous of Oguri Shun?"

"O-of course not! Why should I be? You know what—never mind. Just forget I even asked."

"Oh, I doubt I'll ever forget this moment." Smirk.

"Whatever."

"And for the record, Chibisuke, Sakuno-chan is right: Oguri Shun does have very pretty eyes." Teasing smile. "Even prettier than yours."

"So?" Snort. "I doubt he can do the Twist Serve or Drive B better than I can.")

Well, not much anyway.

"Everybody seems to be talking about this Roderich-san, ne?"

With his thoughts interrupted, Ryoma glanced to his right where a pigtailed girl walked closely beside him. She had curiosity written all over her face as she listened to the conversation going on around them. They passed another set of giggling girls.

"Roderich-san is so cool."

"He is, isn't he? And the way he plays the piano…" Sigh.

"And he's so handsome, too."

"And such a gentleman."

"And so elegant."

The Tennis Prince furrowed his brow. Was he experiencing déjà vu or didn't he hear a similar conversation a while ago?

"Who do you think is Roderich-san?" he heard her ask. Her voice clearly expressed her interest.

"Beats me." He shrugged. He didn't know and truthfully, he didn't care. At that moment, all he wanted was to have peaceful lunch with Sakuno in one of their favorite spots: the cherry blossom tree at the back of the school. He could not care less about this Roderich–person and he doubt he'd start caring anytime soon. He was just some guy. That's it. Nothing special.

Or so he thought.

That was until he met the actual man himself—the one person that miraculously defeated Matsumoto Jun as the number one object of infatuation for the girls of the entire Seishun Gakuen Highschool Department.

One hour later, Echizen Ryoma met Roderich Edelstein.

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere in Tokyo, a light-haired man was frowning in his office. With his elbow resting on his armchair and his chin on his palm, he, with his blue yes narrowing into slits, fervently watched his brown-haired female companion as she continued her animated conversation on her mobile phone. She was smiling, and giggling, and speaking in such a sweetly feminine voice—it made him totally sick. He felt the urge to punch someone— like a certain pretentious, four-eyed pauper from Austria. He didn't know what she saw in that idiot. He was not even half as awesome as he was. Then again, what did he care?

What did he care if Elizaveta had no taste in men?

What did he care if she and that Austrian git were so close they might as well be married?

What did he care if they were rubbing it to his face that they were oh so happy and oh so meant to be?

He didn't. Someone like him had no time for such meaningless things.

"I'm happy to hear that you're having a great time with the students. So you have one more class left to visit right? Uh-huh. Coffee? Where? I'd love to. I'll meet you at the school then."

Gilbert rolled his eyes. Didn't they already have breakfast together? How often did they need to see each other anyway? Weren't they sick and tired of each other's faces? If he were in shoes, he wouldn't be able to stand seeing that Austrian pauper so many times in a day. It would be torture.

When she closed her mobile phone, Gilbert straightened up in his seat.

"You two make me gag," he told her in a matter-of-factly tone.

If Elizaveta was affected by what he said, she didn't show any signs of it. Instead, she smiled mockingly as she kept her mobile phone inside her pink skirt's pocket. "Careful, Gilbert, your bitterness is showing."

"Me? Bitter? "He scoffed. "You are delusional."

"Right, delusional," she mimicked, her tone clearly expressing her disbelief. "By the way, I'm going out with Roderich today."

Crossing his arms over his chest, he diverted his attention to the wall on his left. "So? Like I care."

"Well, I just wanted to remind you that you still have a lot of paperwork to finish. Get them done by the end of the day or else I'll bash your head with a frying pan. See you later."

He gave her no reply, never looked at her. Upon hearing the door to his office click to a close, he moved to face the doorway and scowled.

"Going to a date during office hours. How irresponsible." Leaving his seat, he began walking around his office. " Hmph! I bet they'll probably meet in that new café downtown and he'll buy her favorite coffee and cake and she'll smile at him and say thank you and hug him and kiss him. But for sure that sissy will end up penniless because that new café is expensive and he'll most likely end up having only canned sardines for dinner for the rest of the month. Haha, serves him right, stupid Austrian pauper." he exclaimed with glee while his vision blurred due to unshed tears, tears of happiness he'd like to claim for nothing made him happier than being alone and being free from all the troubles that men in a relationship would often experience. "I'm so lucky," he declared as he wiped away the tears that were forming in his eyes.

Then, he stared at the doorway; the thought of following Elizaveta suddenly entered his mind. Not because he wanted to be around her or anything. That would never be the case. He was not as pathetic as Roderich. He simply wanted to see the sufferings of hs longtim nemsis firsthand. That would be a sight to behold.

"And besides, if she can slack off during working hours, why can't I?"

And with this thought in mind, Gilbert hurriedly left his office to follow the path that the Hungarian woman had taken.

* * *

One hour later, Echizen Ryoma settled in his assigned seat in Music Class and was keenly observing the events going on around him. For the first time since the school year had started, the class seemed to have its full attention on Suzuhara-sensei. None of the usual murmurs, the usual passing around of notes. Everybody's eyes were focused up front, looking at the chubby teacher's direction with interest. But Ryoma knew better than to believe it was Suzuhara-sensei who had captured everyone's attention. Suzuhara-sensei was never able to do that for the past several months that he had been their teacher; Ryoma doubted he'd be able to do it now, especially after seeing that everyone' gazes were actually drifting towards his companion.

"Before we start the lesson, I'd like to introduce a very special guest in today's class. I met him during my travels in Europe, but he recently moved here to Tokyo and opened up a music school. Everyone, this Roderich Edelstein-san, my friend who is an accomplished pianist and a very good music teacher in Austria—and soon, he will be your substitute teacher as I'm going to be on leave for a month starting next week."

Leaning forward on his desk and resting his chin on his palm, Ryoma studied the brown-haired, bespectacled foreigner from head to foot. '_So that's the famous Roderich-san_,' he thought, unimpressed. As he was expecting, Roderich-san was just like any other guy, albeit more decent-looking than the usual crop of male teachers they had in Seigaku. But that's it. He just couldn't see what the fuss was all about.

"Good afternoon, everyone. First, I'd like to thank Suzuhara-sensei for that nice introduction. Second, I'm quite glad to have finally met everyone. Suzuhara-sensei has told me a lot of commendable things about this class and I'm looking forward to handling your music lessons beginning Monday," Roderich spoke in amazingly near perfect Japanese.

Ryoma snorted as his eyes wandered around, noticing the dreamy look that most of the girls in the class had on their faces. It looked like Roderich-san was not the only one who was looking forward to Monday's music period, though Ryoma seriously doubted if the majority of the female population in the room actually cared about the lessons more than they cared about their would-be lecturer.

'This is so boring.' Ryoma yawned as he slumped forward on his desk. He was never that interested in music or semi-attractive substitute music teachers for that matter, so it didn't take long before lethargy overtook him. With his face buried on the surface of his desk, Ryoma closed his eyes. He barely understood, let alone heard what Suzuhara-sensei and his foreign guest were talking about right then. They might as well be speaking in Russian and he wouldn't notice.

Then, a soothing piece of piano music filled the room, and Ryoma found himself inching even closer to dreamland. Certainly, there was no stopping him now. He was all set to leave the land of the awake and nothing could shake him out of his lethargic state.

Or almost nothing.

Upon hearing a seemingly lovesick sigh, Ryoma's eyes snapped open and he straightened himself up in his seat. Slowly, he turned to the person seated behind him. What he saw made him furrow his brow in unmasked disapproval.

* * *

With her face resting between her hands, Ryuuzaki Sakuno keenly listened to the beautiful melody that was filling the entire room. There was a dreamy look on her brown eyes as her lips curved to form a blissful smile.

She sighed while looking at the man behind the piano.

Right then, Ryuuzaki Sakuno was certain she was in love.

* * *

Ryoma could not believe the vision before him. She had _that_ look. It was not the insignificant look of appreciation that she had every time she's watching Nemo, PUTTUN or that billboard guy. It was different. He had seen that strange sparkle in her eyes once. And that time, she was looking at _him_. Call him selfish, egotistic or whatever, but all the while, he thought that look was for him and him alone.

Unable to control himself, he called her attention. "Hey…"

Her gaze slowly drifted towards him. He narrowed his eyes; she furrowed her brow, confused.

"Eh?"

He exhaled sharply. "Stop it. You look as silly as the rest of them."

She pursed her lips together as he moved to face upfront, his plan to spend the rest of the hour dozing off now completely forgotten. His vision once again turned to the Austrian, who continued to wow everyone (except him) with his musical prowess.

Ryoma was never that fond of Music Class but this was the first time he wished it would end right away. The next forty-five minutes became more agonizing as Roderich-san did not only impress everyone with his piano skills but with his diplomatic demeanor as well. Ryoma had never been happier when the class finally ended. But this moment of joy became momentary and he felt he was sucked into the Twilight Zone when he heard the conversation that went around as he and the rest of the class left the music room.

"Roderich-san is so cool."

"He is, isn't he? And the way he plays the piano…" Sigh.

"And he's so handsome, too."

"And such a gentleman."

"And so elegant."

"You've got to be kidding me," he murmured under his breath.

"Roderich-san seems really nice, isn't he? And he's really skilled in playing the piano. "

He turned to the pigtailed girl walking beside him. The animated expression she had as she talked about the Austrian did not sit well with him.

"I'm glad he's going to be our substitute teacher. Are you?" She looked at him hopefully.

"I'm utterly brimming with joy," he answered with an impassive expression.

Sakuno grinned, seemingly oblivious to the sarcasm in his voice. She could be a bit dense sometimes.

"I knew you'd say that. After all, it's really hard not to like Roderich-san ne?"

No, scratch that. She could be very dense sometimes.

He stared at her in disbelief as if she had grown another head.

And mentally, he added the name Roderich Edelstein to his ever growing black list.

**TBC**

* * *

**Footnote:**(1)PUTTUN is actually a play on the word _puttsun_ which means crazy.


End file.
